...but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.Ecclesiastes 3:12
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
Ecclesiastes 9:7
In the medieval period English food became rich in spice and dried fruit, largely because English merchants were profitably trading with the East. Sugar, spice and exotic fruits were incredibly expensive to buy, and even in wealthy households these ingredients were only used for feast food; the food consumed for high days and holidays. I suppose also, the fashion for heavily spiced food may have come as a reaction to the various fast-days the medieval people had to endure...wasn't more than 50% of the liturgical calender given over to fasts or days of holy obligation? I suppose you would be very grateful for something as exciting as fruit cake or mince pie after weeks of river fish and butter-less bread!
It used to be that every region in England had their own versions of the feast day treats. I remember, when we still had several independent bakers in our town, a mincemeat turnover called a Godcake...or Coventry Godcake. I haven't seen one in years, but I haven't seen an independent bakery in years either! Godcakes were traditionally given to godchildren on Twelfth Night, by the doting godparents of the Coventry area. I kind of remember old folks calling those funny triangles of grass you get at junctions on country roads "Godcakes", but this may be my brain playing tricks on me! Making Godcakes couldn't be more simple. Take a square of very short, or flaky, pastry, fill half of it with mincemeat and make it into a triangular shaped turnover. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle on a little brown sugar. Bake in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot, with pouring cream, or leave to go cold, lift up the pastry top and fill with whipped cream. If you want a vintage recipe for Coventry Godcakes, see the excellent Good Things in England, by Florence White.
Also, from across the border in Leicestershire, there's a little cake called a Whetstone Cake. I had no idea these things existed until I read an article on regional food in a 1930s edition of Good Housekeeping magazine. The cake was just listed amongst a series of other regional foods, and it attracted me, not just because I live very close to Whetstone, but because (get this!) Whetstone is my maiden name. There's very little information on them out there in the ether, but from what I can gather they are little pies, made of flaky pastry and filled with dried fruits and rosewater. Sounds very Tudor to me...no wonder Nigella Lawson, in How to be a Domestic Goddess, recommended that Baklava be counted as Christmas food, the links between the food of the Eastern Meditterranean and traditional English feast-fare are remarkable.
Another Baklava-style treat is the Sacristan. I have no idea how this pastry gained its name, but like Baklava it is filled with nuts, sugar, honey and spice. Unlike Baklava, Sacristans are bites-sized pastries twisted into little shapes; circles, knots and fish being popular...each shape perhaps having a religious or traditional meaning?
In Suffolk God's Kitchels were eaten for the twelve days of Christmas, and just like the Godcakes of Coventry, were meant to be given to visiting godchildren. Apparently, there used to be a Suffolk saying: "ask me a blessing and I'll give you a kitchel." Kitchels were triangular and filled with dried fruit, spice and nuts, just like my local Godcake! Perhaps these things were triangular to represent the Trinity?
And finally, Shropshire had their Soulcakes. This time the cakes were meant to be eaten on All Souls' Day, and perhaps the American tradition of Trick or Treating stems from the Shopshire emmigrants who in the "old country" went souling... children singing from house to house collecting money in late October to buy the ingredients for Soulcakes .
Of course, these folk foods have largely died out. However, what we do have left is the mince pie. Which is good. It's the feast-food we still have today, which is baked regularly, enjoyed regularly and is intrinsically linked with the liturgical calender. A mince pie is entwined with the holidays of the past, it's a historic morsel of celebration! Although mince pies contained beef until the early Victorian period, Mrs Beaton has two recipes; one containing meat and one which does not. Indeed, the fashion for putting meat in them did die out completely by the latter part of the 19th century. But meat or no meat what we have left is a pie which has been part and parcel of the traditional feast-foods just like the Kitchels and Godcakes that have now sadly gone.
I don't tend to faff about with mince pies, I make too many. You can add orange rind and almonds to the pastry, or make your mince meat with blueberries and cranberries, which is nice. However, I think one of the reasons why the pies continue to be baked regularly during Advent and the Christmas season is because they are so very easy to do. Instead of typing out my own recipe for pies I shall link to the blessed Delia, my pies are just an adaption of hers, and you can never really go wrong her recipes. If you want a more detailed recipe for Godcakes, or would like a recipe for Kitchels, Soulcakes or Sacristans, please email me and I'll send you a recipe as soon as I can.
God bless and happy baking!
